Oct
29
Written by:
Dennis Atwood
10/29/2009 1:46 PM
An Associated Press story in the Raleigh News & Observer reported this week that the decline in U.S. newspaper circulation is accelerating, Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show that average daily circulation dropped 10.6 percent in the April-September period from the same six-month span in 2008.
The report went on to say that although newspaper sales have been declining since the early 1990s, the drop has accelerated in recent years. The accelerated change is partly because newspapers have stopped serving harder-to-reach areas and have limited circulation to their core regions. However, in many cases, people simply aren't buying print copies as much as they used to, given the abundance of free news on the Internet. (newsobserver.com 10/28/09)
It’s just another sign of the times. The way we report and receive news is drastically changing. Call me “old school,” but I still prefer to sip my coffee in the mornings while reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. (When I’m ready for a change I migrate over to my big comfy chair.) Granted, I don’t get the box scores of the late game from the night before, but there’s something more sacred about holding a newspaper while reading its pages rather than scrolling down the screen of my laptop or blackberry.
I guess the real issue should be about the content and accuracy (truth) of the news itself rather than my personal sacrament of reading the newspaper made possible by one of God’s good trees. I know I’ll have to change. One day there will cease to be a hard copy of the daily newspaper and I’ll be forced to read the morning news via the Internet. If I spill my coffee it will cost a lot more than the 50 cents of the old newspaper. However, the news of daily life and world events will still be reported. Words will still fly. I’ll just have to adjust.
When it comes to the church and the reality of change, there’s a lesson, or two, somewhere for us in the story of the modern-day evolution of the newspaper. Mediums change largely due to cultural trends and economic factors. Core message is really the issue. After all, Jesus said “The truth shall set you free…” not “The church shall set you free…”
Church is the medium. Gospel is the message. Believe me, I know it’s hard, but let’s try to keep them in the proper order.